Source: Pacific Press / Getty
When it comes to finding “Black Trump Supporters,” it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack, but they do exist. On social media, though, it would seem they are more prevalent than believed, but it turns out they are as real as a Louis Vuitton bag on Canal Street.
Wednesday (October 14), Forbes reported that Twitter has removed several accounts claiming to be Black supporters of the super-spreader-in-chief Donald Trump, claiming they violate spam and account manipulation guidelines. The accounts were using photos of real Black people, aka digital Black face, and all were pushing the same message “YES I’M BLACK AND I’M VOTING FOR TRUMP.”
Darren Linvill, a Clemson University communications professor, revealed that two dozen of the accounts have been retweeted or promoted over 265,000 times.
The Forbes piece details how the social media companies are scrambling to silence these fake accounts peddling misinformation and disinformation ahead of the upcoming presidential election. The goal is to make sure there is no repeat of 2016’s presidential election.
Per Forbes:
“Social media platforms are scrambling to tighten and enforce policies on misinformation and disinformation in the runup to November 3, as they seek to avoid a repeat of the 2016 poll that saw Russia interfere through troll accounts, and other tactics, on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Twitter has banned all political ads on the platform and is flagging misleading posts and content more prominently (including President Trump’s), while Facebook has succumbed to pressure from lawmakers and campaigners and made a last-minute U-turn on certain forms of misinformation spreading, including those related to Covid-19, Qanon, and Holocaust denial.”
So be wary of the jig on social media. There are definitely not that many Diamond and Silks out here cooning for Donald Trump.
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Photo: Pacific Press / Getty
